When someone is in debt to a company or a financial institution, they often have to put up with those annoying calls from collection agencies. While many of these agencies do work within the laws, many use unscrupulous tactics to try and collect money owed. There are laws in place that are supposed to prevent them from doing these things, but unfortunately, many collection agencies ignore these laws. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is in place to limit what collection agencies can do in order to get payments. Collection agencies are not allowed to be abusive, use foul language, or be deceptive when collecting monies owed to them and their clients.
No one likes to deal with debt collectors, but it is becoming a common thing for many people in this tough economy. One of the laws surrounding debt collection is that they only contact people during specific hours. They can’t call people late at night, nor can they call on Sundays. They are also not supposed to call people at their places of employment. If someone is being harassed at work and at odd hours by a collection agency, or if the collector refuses to provide information, they may need to hire the services of a Fair Debt Collection Attorney.
The debt collector must inform those that they call the name of the creditor, how much money is owed, and how one can dispute their debt. They should also be able to provide written confirmation of the debt. In fact, if they do not provide this information when they call the first time, they are required by law to send a written communication with the details. This must be done within five days of that first call.
Once someone has hired an attorney and the collection agency is aware of this fact, there should be no more contact between the person and the agency. All communication must go through the Fair Debt Collection Attorney. Clients should be sure to keep a record of all communications they have received from the collection agency, and keep all letters and emails. To learn more about how to stop those annoying collection agencies, contact Ledford & Wu.
